The present invention relates generally to the field of locksmiths and more specifically to a method for quickly and efficiently re-keying a lock.
Locksmiths are skilled at working on locks of all kinds, including locks in the front doors of homes and businesses. When a homeowner or business owner wants to “change the locks” on their doors, they have the option of actually buying an entirely new lock assembly for each door and replacing the old assembly with the new one. This process can be expensive, since it involves purchasing a new lock assembly for every door. More often than not, the business owner will “change the locks” on his doors by having a locksmith re-key the old lock. Re-keying only involves replacing the old tumblers in the lock assembly with new tumblers, and allows the rest of the lock assembly to still be used. After the tumblers have been replaced, the old key can no longer be used to open the lock. This method of re-keying is generally more cost effective than replacing entire lock assemblies. When a locksmith re-keys a lock, he removes the old tumblers from the plug of the lock and replaces them with new tumblers having different sizes than the old tumblers. A new key, that has been cut to match the new tumblers, must then be used to open the lock. Re-keying a lock can be a tedious process, since the tumblers are very small and each tumbler must be placed into a corresponding hole in the plug. For locksmiths with large fingers or bad eyesight, the chance of dropping and losing the tumblers on the ground is great. Because a number of small items (multiple tumblers) must found, tracked and manipulated, re-keying a lock can be time consuming.
What is needed in the field is a device that allows a lock to be re-keyed quickly and efficiently. The ideal device would not require the locksmith to handle the individual tumblers, nor force the locksmith to try and fit each tumbler into a corresponding small hole in the lock's plug by hand.